The TJX Companies announced Friday that it was shutting down its A.J. Wright brand, converting 91 of its 162 stores to those of its other brands -- T.J. Maxx, Marshalls or HomeGoods -- and closing the rest. The move will eliminate 4,400 jobs, about half of them part-time positions.

State Street Corp. (STT) plans to cut 1,400 jobs and reduce real estate costs as near zero interest rates eat into profit.
The job cuts represent about 5% of the bank%u2019s workforce, Bloomberg News said. The measures should save the company as much as $625 million a year by the end of 2014.

Nokia Corp. (NOK) will lay off 1,800 workers as it seeks to cut costs in its Symbian Smartphone operation.
CEO Stephen Elop said that Nokia "faces a remarkably disruptive time in the industry, with recent results demonstrating that we must reassess our role in and our approach to this industry," The Associated Press reported.

Aon Corp., the world's biggest insurance broker, revealed in a regulatory filing Thursday a restructuring plan which includes cutting 1,500 to 1,800 positions globally, as it combines the operations of the recently acquired Hewitt Associates with its own.

In the U.S., 52% of companies report problems attracting critical-skill employees. Some of the hottest jobs over the next 10 to 15 years require tech skills that aren't gained at traditional manufacturing jobs. Here are some strategy's for getting those skills.

Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL) is cutting jobs and retiring planes at its Comair regional subsidiary.
Comair is retiring most of its 50-seat jets in 2011 and 2012, Reuters reported, citing a Comair memo to staff. The memo did not give details on how many of the subsidiary%u2019s 2,600 workers will be cut.

U.S. employment suffered another setback as the private sector unexpectedly cut 10,000 jobs in August, ADP announced Wednesday. A Bloomberg survey had forecast that private employers would add 17,000 jobs in the month

Since the recession began, more than 8 million Americans have lost their jobs. But perhaps even more surprising is the small number of companies that are responsible for laying off such a large percentage of today's unemployed workers.

A growing list of companies have jumped on the "happiness coaching" bandwagon. To its practitioners, it is a proven method that can lead to changed lives. But to its detractors, its just another gimmick for squeeze more work out of dispirited employees.

Entering February, a mixed picture on employment has developed: Job cuts in January reached their highest total since August, but still represent a 70% reduction from the same time a year ago, when they peaked at 241,749. What's going on?

Fresh data shows the nation's labor market is continuing to improve modestly. The number of people filing new claims for unemployment fell to a seasonally adjusted 432,000 for the week ending Dec. 26, the Labor Department reports, down 22,000 from the previous week's 454,000.